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By Egypt Solidarity Students and staff at universities in Cambridge, Berlin and Athens are planning solidarity hunger strikes as part of the the “1000 hours of hunger” campaign launched by SOAS students in response to calls for international solidarity …

Students and staff at universities in Cambridge, Berlin and Athens are planning solidarity hunger strikes as part of the the “1000 hours of hunger” campaign launched by SOAS students in response to calls for international solidarity with Egyptian political prisoners. The 1000 hours campaign has already notched up over 400 hours of hunger, following a lively protest at SOAS on 25 September. Over 140 detainees in Egypt are on hunger strike in prisons and police stations across the country, protesting at unfair trials, long periods of detention without trial and abuse and ill-treatment in jail.

The Freedom for the Brave campaign in Egypt, which mobilises solidarity with political detainees, has called for two days of international action and solidarity hunger strikes on 9th and 10th October, as detainees in high-profile cases face trial on 11th October.

Sana’a Seif, a 20 year old student and sister of well-known activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, was arrested on 21 June at a peaceful demonstration contesting the anti-protest law. She will face trial on 11 October alongside feminist activist Yara Sallam and others seized as police and thugs attacked the demonstration.

Mohamed Soltan, who has been on hunger strike for over 250 days will see his case come to court on the same, after spending more than a year in prison without trial. Amnesty International issued a statement on 19 September condemning the Egyptian authorities for denying Soltan medical care and punishing him for his hunger strike by imprisoning him in solitary confinement.

Meanwhile, activist Ahmed Douma, a leading member of the 6th of April Youth Movement, ended a month-long hunger strike after becoming seriously ill. He is serving a 3 year sentence for breaking the repressive anti-protest law and faces trial in a number of other cases.

Walton Pantland

South African trade unionist living in Glasgow. Loves whisky, wine, running and the great outdoors. Walton did an MA in Industrial Relations at Ruskin, Oxford, and is interested in how trade unions use new technology to organise.